The Unmaking of Captain America
by AutumnSweetFae
Summary: The nauseous dizzy feeling Steve had as he started to come to suggested a concussion, the thick cotton ball feeling of his mouth and the unnatural heaviness of his limbs suggested drugs, and the cold slab of a raised up lab table and the heavy restraints that held him to it confirmed capture. He didn't even need to open his eyes to know this was Hydra's doing.
1. Chapter 1

The nauseous dizzy feeling Steve had as he started to come to suggested a concussion, the thick cotton ball feeling of his mouth and the unnatural heaviness of his limbs suggested drugs, and the cold slab of a raised up lab table and the heavy restraints that held him to it confirmed capture.

The last thing Steve could remember was eating breakfast at a diner with Sam, the two of them talking over where Bucky might be heading next. Since the trail in Europe had gone cold weeks ago and there was a chance he might have returned to the States.

He can't recall any fight or explosion, likely because of his concussion, he hopes civilians weren't involved and preys that Bucky won't be.

He didn't even need to open his eyes to know this was Hydra's doing, but he did any way.

He couldn't help but wince as the harsh florescent operating lights blinded him for a moment and they not at all helped with the pounding in his head. He pushes through it though, needing to see and understand just how serious his situation was.

Once his eyes adjusted he found a lab full of various machines and equipment, all with large thick cables plugged into them and covering the floor. Everyone of them seemed to be plugged into whatever machine was behind the very table Steve was strapped up agents.

He found that he was currently striped down to his breifs, and any trace of his clothing or shield was no where to be seen. Clearly his captors weren't taking any risk.

There were no people in the room as far as he could tell but he did count at least 5 cameras, all focused on him. There was a brighter light coming from the wall behind him, a window perhaps? Possible escape route? No, Hydra wasn't that stupid… Unless they were, Steve would really appreciate it if they were, it'd make his escape a hell of allot easier.

None the less he was still currently bound down to this freezing lab table in a Hydra faculty with no idea where said faculty even is. The large metal restraints wouldn't give no matter the amount of force he used, not unlike the ones strike team had put him in all those months ago. He tried to find a weak point but from what he could tell there didn't seem to be one.

"I would rather you not thrash around to much, as unbreakable as those bindings are, they did cost a small fortune." An aged calculating voice said over the speakers.

Steve's eyes narrow as the table he was strapped to was remotely turned around to face the brighter wall. Steve was right, It was a window, but instead of leading to the outside it lead to another room filled with an audience of nearly 2 dozen people.

He counted about 8 armed guards lining the walls and there were very likely even more outside the two back exits he spotted. The room itself was divided between the 10 well dressed officials who sat toward the back of the room in lavish chairs to observe, and the 5 lab coated scientist who sat down in the front where most of whom were leaning over a variety of control panels and computers.

All but one, an old woman who stood front and center on her side of the glass, looking directly at him, a cruel grin on her wrinkled mouth.

He glared scaldingly at her and opened his mouth to speak only for a sharp white hot current of agony to course through him.

"Interruptions will not be tolerated." The lead scientist informed him curtly through the mic in front of her. It was said as though she was scolding a class of school children but that grin of her was still in place.

Steve grit his teeth and breathed deeply once the electric shocks has ceased. He eyes the room's occupants carefully. The wealthy dressed likely some of the remaining Hydra supporters who's names weren't in the internet leak. They all eyed him like he was a prize animal, glasses of champagne held in their grasp and victorious smiles upon their wretched faces. The assisting scientist looked nervous to all hell, sparing each other scared glances as they worked, but the lead one…

"As I was saying," she began, her attention turning to the people behind her, seeming to continue a speech she had started before opening the com to him.

"the Super-serum has been the prime goal and envy of ours since the great Johann Shmidt himself founded our organization. But alas, any and all our attempts to duplicate it has been met with failure, in one form or another." she explained "And while the good late doctor Zola did manage to come the closest to copying the serums abilities with the Winter Soldier project, the sheer amount of conditions and variables surrounding the asset made long term missions impossible."

Steve could feel his blood boiling at the inhuman way she talked about Bucky. Cold and distant, as if their twisted 'project' hadn't stolen the life of a great man, mutilated his body, and shattered his mind.

"What's more, without the constant supplements and enhancers the assets abilities not only falters, but weakens as well, and without the continuous wiping and cryo whatever was left of the assets consciousness would render it incipient and useless for its missions." She told them offhandedly as her fingers flew acts the control panels, activating the machines that surrounded him. She lifted her gaze to pointedly meet with Steve's when she spoke again.

"In the end, the asset, formally know as Sargent James Buchanan Barnes, was nothing more than another failure in the attempts to duplicate the perfect soldier."

Her grin widen at him as he tried his best to keep his head. She was doing this on purpose, trying to get a reaction from him, likely just so she could have an excuse to electrocute him again. He wasn't going to give her that.

Turns out he had to stop himself from smirking when he saw a scowl flash across her features when he didn't take the bait.

"This brought me to the only possible solution to finding the secret of the serum." she contined sharply. "As it was not within the trial and error of failed test subjects and wasted funds, but, instead, to go to the very source itself…" She finished her work over the panels with the pull of a lever causing whatever machines behind Captain Rogers began to move and the table started to fall back, "and remove it~"

Steve gasped in pain as the sharp pinch of needles dug into his back and arms from the table beneath him and the restraints around him. Then a large coffin like casing closed around him from behind, not at all unlike Howard Starks machine from all those years ago.

He could see the scientist through a small window as he felt more needles stick into him and the loud humming of the machine trunning on muffled all other noises. He could only watch as that wicked grin of hers turned into a smirk as she flipped the final switch.

All Captain Steven Grant Rogers could comprehend from that moment on was white hot agonizing pain.


	2. Chapter 2

Sam Wilson couldn't help the pained groan he let out as he leaned his still very bruised back against his wonderfully heated seat of the jet. Time's like these he found himself envying many of his new friends and their ability to bounce right back after a fight.

"You doing alright there?" Sam heard to his left. He sighed as he cracked open an eye to look at at his red haired friend.

"I will be when we get him back." he told Natasha honestly. He knows he shouldn't but he just hasn't been able to stop blaming himself since Steve had been taken. If he'd just act a little sooner, if he'd just been a little quicker, if he just-

He's been trying to get snap head out of that line of thought since to moment he came to on that slightly charred roof top. He knew if he lingered on them too long they might dig up old ones, and he didn't have time for them right now. Because Steve was still alive, and he was going to get him back.

He could also tell by the look in Natasha's eyes he was not alone in this. Which was exactly why she called in some of their friends for a little help.

And said 'little' help came in the form of the entirety of the Avengers and Starks finances to back them up.

"We should be arriving at the source of that power surge in about 20 minutes." he heard Tony call from up front of the jet, the Avengers jet he should specifie. "I recommend everyone suit up if you haven't yet! This one could be a clusterfuck." he warned before leaning back over the pilot's chair to continue whatever conversation he had be having with Coronal Rhodes who was flying the jet and Ms. Pepper Potts who sat aside him.

"Yeah, no kidding." Clint said as he sorted through his arrows, making sure he'll have any and all he might need for the full on frontal assault they were planing. "Before those bastards that took Cap turned out to be Hydra they were some of the best agents S.H.I.E.L.D had. And the

asshole who knocked you out with that rocket launcher? That guy still owes me 80 bucks." he told Sam making him snort.

"I'll be sure to collect that for you." Sam grinned at him. One of the drawbacks Hydra had with attacking Sam and Steve in a public place: in this day and age security cameras are everywhere. Which made figuring out who exactly they were up against a whole lot easier.

"Is there anymore information you might have on these foes before we face them in battle?" Thor, the god damn Mighty God of Thunder himself asked him with interest as he slipped the Stark phone he had been talking to Dr. Foster on moments before into his pocket.

"We know this Hydra division is much bigger than the smaller groups we've been hunting down since the fall of shield." Sam explained. "We're thinking a number of them might be some highly specialized mercenaries Hydras hiring to protect what they have left. Were talking former mafia, ex military, some ninjas apparently, whatever they can afford, and by the looks of it they can afford allot."

"We also think they might be made up of the Hydra side of S.H.I.E.L.D's advanced weapons research lab. We're talking some of the same guys who thought up and created 'Project Insite'." Natasha continued making Sam's eyes glanced at hers for a brief moment.

It was very likely these were also the same mad scientist who worked on The Winter Soldier as well. And if they had as many people working for them as they thought, who knew how many aces they might have up their sleeves. If she did think that as well she didn't let that show, so it was very likely that she did.

"So that's the reason we brought our big green guns." Clint smirked toward the front of the jet where Dr. Banner sat quietly in his seat as he read from the tablet he held. Whatever the stats showed he didn't seem to like as he was worrying his lip as he read further into the events of the last two hours around the area they were on course for.

"Something the matter there big guy?" Tony asked as he collapsed in the seat next to his fellow scientist.

"hmm? Oh, I'm not sure." He admitted as he looke up at tony and then the rest of the team "I mean between Natasha's connections and Jarvis we know this old cold war military base is where they took him but the power readings were just so unusually high before that surge struck and knocked out all the local systems. I'm thinking they might be on there own grid now and if so we might be dealing with some force field tech or something equally as troublesome." he sighed as he took off his glasses to rub his eyes.

"We really are gonna need a code Green for this aren't we?" he asked tiredly.

"Have no fear my friend, between my strength and Starks siren call, your other side will be subdued, I assure you!" Thor smiled kindly at the doctor.

A very loud snort could be heard from the pilot seat as well as a giggle from Ms. Potts to which Tony gave both a betrayed glare "Ok, first of all," he defended "I pretty sure we all agreed it was to be called the _Lullabye_, and secondly-"

"And secondly," Pepper interrupted him from her spot on the other side of Banner "he won't be doing it alone." She smiled at Dr. Banner and he gratefully smiled back.

"_Not_ that that I couldn't do it on my own, you know." Tony shrugged as he nervously looked away from Pepper. "I mean with all the number of times that we practice it! Plus if it _were_ by some tiny percentage to go wrong I could always just call Veronica an-"

"Tony," Pepper began warningly as she fixed him with that look of hers. "We all agreed on that if you were going out in that suit again you were not going out there alone." She told him as the fiery glow of extremis sparked to life in her eyes.

"Damn right." Rhodes added without even looking up from his flight controls.

Tony turns to Bruce for some kind of support only to find him nodding along with the other two. He sighs, "Alright, I got it…" Tony admitted before turning to look back at Pepper "But just so you know, I do have a third suit on board ready to be activated at any moment if you need it! I know you won't! _But just in case you do _I-"

Pepper smiled at Tony as she put her hand up to stop him, "Between all the months of training with Nat, Maria and Thor I know I'm ready for this." She assured "And it's not like I'm taking the whole base head on alone, I'll have you and Rhodney and everyone else here looking out for me too, even the other guy." She smiled at Bruce who gave an awkward shrug.

"Ya know she's got a point, pretty sure the big guys got a crush on her." Natasha smirked at Tony, getting another snort from the pilot and a blush from Bruce. Tony rolled his eyes.

"Alright everyone, we are now dropping under the clouds so should have a visual of our destination any minute now." Colonel Rhodes told them all as he flipped a few switches on the controls to prepare the jet for a landing.

Tony nodded and gave Pepper's shoulder a reassuring squeeze before standing again and calling everyone's attention. "OK! So as we are mere minutes away from rescuing our dear Captain from ye yonder castle, I say we go over the plan again! Take it away Widow!" the Stark declared with a dramatic wave of his hand.

Natasha, unfazed by Tony's theatrics nodded as she powered up her gauntlets.

"Sam, Thor, Stark and Rhodes will take to the sky and be our first wave of attack. You'll need to hit that building as hard as you can to test just how strong their field is. Jarvis will run diagnostics and determine its weak point if we can't knock it out manually. Pepper, Clint and I will take the jeep in and hit them on the ground, but if the enemy is too much we could really use the big guy for back up." she explained as she glanced over at who had nodded and was currently putting his glasses into their case.

"From then on, once the shield is down, it'll be a search and rescue mission. Clint and I searching from the bottom up and Sam and Stark from the top down. Thor, Rhodes, Pepper and the Hulk will stand guard outside unless asked otherwise." She finished.

By now nearly the whole team was ready to go. Sam had gotten up and put on his new and improved wings, Clint had loaded all his arrows, Thor was, well, Thor, Pepper was already prepared as always, and Tony and colonel Rhodes merely needed to step into their suits that stood open and at the ready in front of the back.

The Avengers were Assembled and they were ready to kick Hydra's ass for taking their Captain.

….._except…._

"Uhh, guys? We now have a visual…" Rhodney called back to them in an uneasy voice. "And I really think you should all see it..."

They all exchanged a confused look before approaching the pitot seat to look out the windshield at what they were expecting to be a Hydra base armed to the teeth.

And what they saw? Oh god, what they saw….

Smoke and fire, destruction and chaos. Bodies of agents and mercenaries littered the front grounds of the base, and not a single one still moving. Angry flames engulfing the charred metal of two desmated tanks as well as a crashed helicopter that had collided with the building itself.

Said building still stood, for the most part, as for if anyone was still alive in there? Well…

The Avengers all shared the same worried look as they all recognized the pattern of the battle field. What happen they could tell that Hydra was trying to keep something **out**, not keep someone _in_.

Natasha and Sam shared a quiet glance as the rest still looked on in worry.


End file.
